Double Identity
by NuthinButHuman
Summary: Based on the book Double Identity, Namine thought she was living a normal life, until her parents drop her off at a seaside town called Destiny Islands. Judging by the townspeople's reactions, perhaps she's not who she thinks she is. Read and review!:D
1. Chapter 1

First fanfic ever. Be nice:D

Chapter One: Something's wrong

There had been nothing but silence during the trip.

Namine Strife sat looking at her hands, having nothing better to do. Her father, Cloud, had piled them all into his car so fast that the only things she had been able to pack were a few of her clothes. She hadn't even managed to grab her sketchbook.

"_No more time! Just grab some clothes and let's go!"_ he said when she protested.

She twisted her hands in agitation. Lately, ever since her fourteenth birthday, her parents had been acting weirder than weird. Like the usual parental paranoia, a hundred times amplified. At first she didn't notice: her parents watched her like a hawk even before. But as time wore on, she noticed that her parents were becoming worse and worse. Suddenly, without the slightest idea why, she was grounded indefinitely, had her cell phone taken away and was pulled out of school. (for the time being, her parents said.). Then, without the slightest warning, her father just piled all of them in his car and dragged them all away to God-knows-where.

"_Something's wrong. I can __**feel- no, I just know it." **_She thought as she fell asleep.

She was woken up by a jolt and a stop. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she noticed that they had come to a halt near a large seaside town. Now fully awake, she jumped when she felt her mother, Aerith, put a hand on her arm.

"Namine, honey. Are you awake?" She asked in her soft-as-petals voice.

"Yeah, just about." Namine replied.

"Come out of the car then. There's someone your father and I want you to meet."

Getting out of her cramped position, Namine allowed herself a good long stretch.She saw her father purse his lips in impatience, but decided to ignore him._ Hey, after being dragged out of my house and stuck for a car for goodness knows how long __**by their own father, **__anyone would want a stretch._

"For goodness' sake, you can have a stretch later. We're in a hurry." He snapped. Something in his voice made Namine feel that this man before her was not her father. She had heard from her neighbor that he was once a hired mercenary. _Bad things happened to people who crossed your father, Nammy._ She had laughed it off then, but now, she felt fear and distrust fill her up.

Somehow, Cloud sensed her fear. " I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry Nammy." he said softly. "For goodness' sake, let's just go!" Aerith snapped. "Namine, you hold on to me. This place is pretty big."

"Right." Cloud said. "Aers, d'you still remember where Tifa lives?" "Number 53, Waveside avenue." Said Aerith. I contacted her just last week before…." She fell silent, as if she just remembered that Namine was still there. Namine was bursting with curiosity at this point, but knowing her parents, it was best not to ask them. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

The walk seemed to go on forever. Every few seconds Aerith looked around and hugged Namine protectively to her. Cloud walked on in grim silence. Eventually, they came to a halt in front of a white house with a front porch. Cloud hopped over the fence, regardless of protests from Aerith, walked up the path leading up to the door and pushed the doorbell. No one answered. Cloud rang the bell again, and slowly the door began to open.


	2. Chapter 2

I see I forgot to do the disclaimer. Here it goes:

Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me. Got it memorized?

On with the second chappie!

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Chapter two: The Family Friend

The door opened to reveal a beautiful woman with long black hair and vivid scarlet-brown eyes. She looked at Cloud as if she had seen a ghost. Suddenly, she flung her arms around him.

"Oh. My. God. Cloud, is that you?" Namine heard her gasp.

"Yes Tifa, it is. But now's not the time. I have to ask you to do me a favor." Cloud answered.

The two began to talk in low, earnest whispers ( after Tifa had extricated Cloud from her tight grasp, of course.. Namine had to strin her ears to listen.

"So you think they've caught on to your trail?"

"Yeah."

"I warned you! Why didn't you listen? Why _won't _you listen?"

"Tifa, I'm sorry but-"here Cloud's voice dropped until Namine couldn't hear him. After a few minutes, she gave up. Deciding that surveying her surroundings would serve more purpose, she looked around.

She was on a narrow street with identical white houses to the right. To the left was a wall of brilliant yellow sunflowers. Up ahead was a breathtaking view of sky and sea.

A voice shook her out of her thoughts. "We'll be leaving her with you. This is the safest place we know."

_Wait a minute… they're __**leaving**__ me with someone I don't even know?_ She whirled around to protest and came face to face with the woman.

"Oh my gosh…." The woman trailed off. "Is she…?"

"You see how it is." Cloud muttered gruffly.

The woman nodded slowly. "I understand. Don't worry, she'll be safe here."

"Whoa, whoa wait a minute! You're leaving me here? With someone I don't even know?!" She saw the woman's face contort with pain, but ignored it. Up to now, Namine had done her best to keep her mouth shut, but there was always a limit to everything. "Why? What did I do?" Tears were streaming down her face, and her parents' too.

"I'm sorry." Cloud muttered gruffly and pulled her close. "We'll come back, I promise.'

But Namine didn't listen. She pulled out of his grasp and ran.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer (sheesh, now I know why fanfiction writers hate it so much): I don't own KH. Stick that.

Chapter 3: Goodbye

Namine broke away from her father's grasp and ran. She had fully intended to run back to the car and lock herself in until her parents gained some sense (**a/n **yes, she's _that_ childish. Keep in mind that DI's Bethany was pretty spoiled) until the woman stopped her midway.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I WANT TO GO HOME! I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!" Namine all but hollered to the moon (**a/n **well wouldn't you be hysterical if your parents decided to leave with someone you don't even know?).

Namine continued swearing and ranting in this vein for about five minutes. After she ran out of breath, the woman sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, you just about alerted everyone in this town about your existence. Well done."

Namine, not used to being spoken in this manner, just gaped.

"At least that shut you up. Now come on. Your parents can't stay here long. Thanks to you, they've been delayed."

Shocked into silence, Namine could do nothing but obey.

* * *

Her parents were still waiting where she left them. Whimpering, Aerith pulled her into a half-suffocating hug. "We'll try to come backNammy, we promise." she whispered. Namine pushed her away. "Why do you have to leave"? she wailed. "Why are you leaving me here? What's going on?" 

"Namine," Cloud said in a strained voice. "I'm sorry, but believe me, this is for the best."

He turned towards Tifa. "Take care of her."

Tifa nodded once. "Don't worry, I will."

And with that, Cloud and Aerith walked away, leaving Namine with a friend she never even knew about.

**I just realized how OOC everyone is in this fic. I'M SORRY! But they need to be. It's for the sake of the story!**

**Read and review!**

**NuthinButHuman**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: How did you know that?

**A/N: Well, in the last chapter we saw Namine being left in Tifa's care by her parents. On with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

Namine stopped crying when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's getting cold." The woman said quietly. "Let's go in."

Namine was a bit hesitant at first, but decided to trust her. _Well if I can't trust her who else can I trust?_ She asked herself as she stepped through the doorway.

The house was neat and old-fashioned. Although not very big, it still had that "homey " feel to it that Namine had never felt in her own house. It was as if she had stepped out of the exit of her old world into the entrance of another. Namine shuddered involuntary, despite of the warmth. She felt as if the house itself knew more about her parents than she herself did.

_Come on, Nami. Get a grip. It's just a really old house. With a really weird feel to it. Just because it has an odd feel to it doesn't mean it's alive._ Namine shook her head. Man was she getting paranoid.

A voice beside her said "I'm sorry. This probably isn't what you're used to. I'm sorry if it's so small."

Namine whirled her head around to stare into the odd coppery eyes of the woman. She forced a smile.

"Oh, no, it's alright. It's really nice, actually."

The woman smiled back, apparently not noticing her discomfort. "I'm glad to hear that. By the way, my name's Tifa. What's yours?"

_You talked to my dad for thirty minutes straight and you forgot to ask him my name?_ Namine thought. But then she realized that the woman- now named Tifa- was trying to make her feel comfortable.

"Namine. Namine Strife." She said extending her hand with a flourish. She looked up with a smile, but was surprised to see Tifa wincing as if in pain.

She immediately dropped her hand.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Tifa broke it. "Your room is upstairs." She said quietly, refusing to meet Namine's eyes. "Second door to the right. Go and unpack, then come down for dinner."

Namine opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it with a snap. She nodded once, and ran up the stairs. Before heading up, she glanced down at Tifa. The woman's face had a look of great pain. She was clutching the place where her heart was supposed to be. She suddenly looked up the staircase, but Namine by that time, had already disappeared up the last flight of steps.


End file.
